Ahli will be satisfied with gaining a point following a goalless draw with ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan in the CAF Champions League on Saturday. The Egyptian champions were lucky to escape with a draw after being outplayed in every aspect of the game. Ahli became on top of Group A with four points, one ahead of Zimbabwe's Dynamos Harare, who face Zamalek on Sunday. ASEC, who slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Dynamos in their group opener, are third on one point while Zamalek remain pointless. ASEC's Domination Ahli were surprisingly outshone by ASEC in the first half. The hosts squandered several clear-cut chances to open the scoring. The Red Devils' defenders failed to deal with ASEC's pacey forwards. Midway through the first half, ASEC's lively striker Zoro Cyriac ghosted behind Ahli's backline to collect a deft pass and go through on goal. His low shot eluded keeper Amir Abdul-Hamid but narrowly missed the target.
The Ivorians kept pushing forward while Ahli sat back to thwart their opponents' attacking waves. Cyriac almost broke the deadlock just before the break when he rose unmarked to head a corner goalwards but Abdul-Hamid palmed the ball away. Ahli greatly improved in the second period after having a more attacking approach. Veteran midfielder Ahmed Hassan, who excelled in Ahli's Champions League win over arch-rivals Zamalek last month, should have put his side ahead in the 50th minute. He was found unmarked at the far post by Mohamed Barakat's cross but his poor header from a point-blank range hit the side-netting. Ahli coach Manuel Jose introduced defensive midfielder Moataz Eno in a bid to help his team gain control over midfield. The substitution proved to be an effective one as Eno intercepted many passes in midfield and appeared in a good shape. Nevertheless, ASEC still remained in control and had several powerful shots denied by the in-form Abdul-Hamid. They could have secured an invaluable winner deep into stoppage time but Kesse Mangoua's free header from inside the box was superbly collected by Abdul-Hamid.
